Saturday, September 8, 2012

TIMES SQUARE IS NO PLACE FOR CARRIAGE HORSES

To some Times Square may be the “cross roads” of the world – to horses, it is their worst nightmare. Domesticating horses never meant to put them to work on the hard unforgiving asphalt surfaces of New York City streets—where their natural instinct to graze is thwarted because there is no grass. It was never meant to make them wear blinders to kill their peripheral vision and putthem in an uncompromising position stuck between the shafts of their carriage in an extremely noisy environment – all to make a few bucks for their owner. It did not mean that it was acceptable to subject these gentle creatures to the loud insanity of Times Square that many native New Yorkers avoid because it is such an awful affront to the
senses. Horses, having such sensitive ears with excellent hearing,
are more reactive to loud noises than we are. I can only imagine
that they either go into a meditative trance because they have no choice or become
totally dispirited and psychologically broken down. It is not
natural and it is cruel.

It is amazing that more of the
horses on the street do not spook and bolt as Oreo did recentlyon
Central Park South as his driver was making an illegal u-turn. It
begs the question if some of the drivers are not putting cotton into the
horses’ ears to prevent them from hearing well in the hope they will not spook and bolt. After all they wear blinders to affect their peripheral
vision – why not earplugs? This is not unheard of in some
horse competitions.

Horses are allowed to work in
Times Square in the evenings until 3:00 am. Take a look at these pictures and this video. These horses do not belong on
the streets of New York City. What possible attraction could there
be to riding in a carriage on crowded, filthy, smelly streets with bright
lights and excessive noise led by a dispirited horse whose vision and probably
hearing are impaired?

Where is our
humanity? How can we continue to allow this inhumane and unsafe
business to exist in New York City? Luckily, many people
want it to end – all polls since 2006 have shown that between 75 and 80 percent
of respondents want this business to be shut down.

This is why we support the
Avella/Rosenthal bill in the NYS legislature to prohibit the use of horse-drawn
carriages in New York City.